“House of Usher,” with its higher production values, was considered a risk for American International Pictures. The film became a success, such a success, that production immediately started on a second Edgar Allen Poe adaptation, with Roger Corman behind the camera and Vincent Price in front of it. “The Pit and the Pendulum” was quickly chosen as the source material but that presented a problem. Poe's story is pretty short and doesn't present much grist for a feature film. So Corman and soon-to-be-legendary writer Richard Matheson managed to cook up a lengthy story around elements from Poe's story, creating another classic in the process.
English nobleman Barnard has recently learned that his sister, Elizabeth, has died mysteriously. He travels to the castle of his brother-in-law, Nicholas Medina. Nicholas' father was a torturer for the Inquisition, the torture chamber still being present inside the sprawling castle. Nicholas watched his father murder his mother and her lover and still feels the scars from that. He believed Eizabeth died of shock after discovering the torture chamber and feels immense guilt over this. As Barnard stays longer at the castle, developing an attraction to Nicholas' sister, he watches the Don become increasingly convinced that the ghost of the late Elizabeth still haunts the castle, his sanity starting to crack up.
Despite their similarities, I think “The Pit and the Pendulum” is actually head-and-shoulders superior to “House of Usher.” The film opens with a swirl of psychedelic colors, Les Baxter's sinister score – among his most discordant – playing overhead. Aside from the music, the opening sequence of Barnard arriving at the castle is silent. This establishes an atmosphere of creeping dread. It's pretty easy to figure out where the plot is headed. Nicholas is obviously being gaslit by Elizabeth and his thought-to-be-best-friend. What makes this slow escalation, more crazy events slowly cracking up Nicholas' sanity, is how Corman makes it seem inevitable. The flashbacks to Nicholas' traumatic childhood, shown in the same cobalt blue dream-images seen in “House of Usher,” set us towards an inescapable fate of violence, torture, and madness. Someone will end up in that torture chamber. Someone will end up entombed alive. “Pit and the Pendulum” draws out that inevitability for extensive tension.
And as far as pure visceral impact goes, few other films in the Poe Cycle can match “The Pit and the Pendulum.” The movie's gothic trappings are top-notch, as the castle sets are packed with cobwebs-strewn underground tunnels lit only be candelabras, hidden passages into forbidden places, spiral staircase that head down into darkened areas. Of course, the titular pit and pendulum is the film's highlight. Price going fully nuts as he describe lurid madness and torture, as the giant blade swings closer to the bound hero, is the stuff of classic horror legend. Of the film's many sights, the only one more horrifying than the twisted visage of a corpse buried alive are the mad, glaring eyes of someone trapped inside an iron maiden, which closes the movie off on an unforgettable image.
Let's recall that time, in the late nineties and early 2000s, when it seemed like Artisan Entertainment was at the cutting edge of cinema. It seemed, for a while there, every independent film of note I watched had that distinctive silver-on-black logo in front of it. Two weeks after their release of “The Blair Witch Project” would basically change the horror genre forever, the studio dropped another horror movie. “Stir of Echoes” was adapted from a 1958 novel by Richard Matheson – so here's a double feature of sorts – and directed by blockbuster screenwriter turned director David Koepp. A modest box office success at the time, the film has won better than average notices over the years. So I'm finally getting around to watching it.
After his sister-in-law reveals that his wife Maggie is pregnant again, blue collar worker Tom Witzky is convinced to let himself be hypnotized. That's when things start to get weird. He notices his three-year-old son Jake is having conversations with a girl that isn't there. He begins to have unsettling nightmares about death and bodily decay. He even has premonitions, sensing his son is in danger and that a neighborhood boy – son of a close friend – will attempt suicide. Soon, Tom becomes obsessed with these visions and begins to suspect that his neighborhood is covering up a grisly murder.
What most surprised me about “Stir of Echoes” is how genuinely creepy it is. The film engineers an eerie atmosphere with a number of different approaches. There's moment of squirming discomfort, such as a cringe-inducing nightmare Tom has about tearing a tooth out. Befitting its title, the film's sound design is excellent. A cliché I normally hate – the little boy's voice suddenly going demonic – is actually effective here, as its deployed without drawing too much attention to itself. Even the big jump scares, the ghost girl suddenly entering into frame, work pretty well. Koepp utilizes a reoccurring siren, often accompanied by the screen flashing red, to keep the audience edgy. Another visual trick, a point-of-view shot during a key moment, also makes an impression on the viewer. Subtly, the film indicates that something is wrong during a nightmare sequence, ending in a decent shock. Overall, Koepp shows a head for horror that I never would've expected from the director of “Mortecai.”
“Stir of Echoes” certainly has its flaws. The ending is slightly anticlimactic, though logical enough. The way it feels the need to explain every facet of its haunting is disappointing. However, I found myself getting a lot out of this one. Koepp and his team commit to a chilly atmosphere, which is carried all the way to the very unnerving final image. Well regarded without exactly being a favorite, “Stir of Echoes” is an underrated, spooky little chiller that definitely deserves your attention. By the way, the movie also got a direct-to-video sequel in 2007, though it was a case of an unrelated film being dolled-up after the fact to connect to another movie. I kind of doubt that one is worth seeking out... [8/10]
I wasn't a regular viewer of of “Tales from the Cryptkeeper” as a kid, as my eyes were usually glued elsewhere on Saturday mornings. However, “The Haunted Mine” is an episode I definitely recall seeing. Fancy-pants city boy Dale heads into the desert to convince his elderly Aunt Melva to move out of her dilapidated home. She refuses to go anywhere without her beloved pet dog, who is both partially death and blind. Meanwhile, the once abandoned local mine shaft – which is haunted, according to local legend – is being re-opended. The blasting causes cracks in the ground, Dale and Aunt Melva falling into the caverns below. That's where they all encounter a strange species of deadly subterranean creatures.
“The Haunted Mine” has got one of the better “Tales from the Cryptkeeper” premises. Despite the title, this is not a ghost story. Instead, our ragtag group of heroes are beset by oddball monsters that don't really fit any other horror archetypes. Their appearances recall both rats and cats, while their pale and bumpy flesh is pretty grotesque, and their claws and fangs make them dangerous. It's a novel premise that honestly could've been expanded into a neat feature. Further refreshing is how this episode doesn't seem to have the sappy moral message that bogs down most of the rest of this show. While the characters are kind of annoying – especially the old miner that has improbably been living down there for forty years – I'll admit watching Dale evolve from asshole rich guy to scrappy hero is amusing. I do wish the mine shaft setting was utilized a little more inventively. Either way, this is a solid little episode. (Though I'm thoroughly sick of the Cryptkeeper and Vault Keeper's rivalry, I did enjoy all the cowboy puns in the host segments.) [7/10]
Since its a genre television show from the nineties, it was inevitable that “Forever Knight” would do a spin on “The Most Dangerous Game.” Criminals of increasing severity have been killed all throughout the city. Each one is left wearing the same, peculiar watch. It's apparent a serial killer of some sorts is active. While tracking a tough guy biker, Nick is shot several times, shrugging it off. This guy isn't the killer but the latest victim. He informs Knight and Schanke that he was offered two millions to be hunted. And now that the hunter has gotten a peek at Nick's ability, they want to hunt him next. Schanke is kidnapped and used as bait.
The bad-guy-of-the-week on “Forever Knight” are usually totally forgettable. “Hunted,” however, creates a really memorable adversary for Nick. Credited only as the Hunter, Gwynyth Walsh is gleefully hammy as a villain that deploys a number of methods to claim her prey. Watching her grow fascinated or flustered with Nick, before her suitably ironic defeat, is a lot of fun. Even if most of the episode is set in a darkly lit warehouse, there's definitely still some fun to be had in seeing Nick face off against an enemy who actually planned to fight a vampire. The flashback has Nick, Jeanette, and LaCroix chasing a homeless man for the thrill of the hunt, which compliments the main storyline nicely. There's also some cute flirting between our vampire hero and Natalie at the end. So, over all, “Hunted” is definitely among the strongest “Forever Knight” episodes I've thus far watched. [7/10]
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